Bank transfers and electronic payments from Saudi Arabia to the UAE are in some cases blocked, while those through other corridors operate as normal, Bloomberg reported. I mentioned Tuesday (July 7), citing unnamed sources.
Businesses and individuals have been experiencing these issues over the past few weeks, although it is uncertain how widespread the issues are, according to the report.
Saudi Arabia Central Bank “There are no direct restrictions on specific countries; banks apply risk-based measures consistently across all transactions to protect the integrity of the financial system,” he told Bloomberg, according to the report.
The central bank did not say whether there was an increase in delays in bank transfers or electronic payments, according to the report.
An Emirati official told Bloomberg that the country’s Ministry of Economy and Tourism has not received reports from private companies about any such delay, according to the report.
The Emirati official said, according to the report: “The United Arab Emirates and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia maintain deep and long-term economic and trade relations, supported by significant trade and investment flows between the two countries.”
While the two countries enjoy an increasing volume of trade with each other and share a regional payments infrastructure, their relationship has also strained, according to the report.
It is vying to become the major regional hub for industries such as finance and artificial intelligence; They disagree about military operations in Yemen. The UAE said it would withdraw from OPEC, the organization primarily led by Saudi Arabia, according to the report.
Reuters reported on Monday (July 6) that the Emirati lender Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank He said some of it Banking services It’s been down due to technology issues over the past week but has been able to resolve those issues.
The bank said payments and transfers through its mobile app were affected, and that the disruptions only affected retail customers, according to the report.
Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank is owned by the Abu Dhabi government through the sovereign wealth fund Mubadala Investment Company, according to the report.
PYMNTS reported in June 2025 that Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates are racing to become the main artificial intelligence Technology Center In the Middle East, they spend and attract real wealth for the sake of their ambitions.
